iPad purchase advice.

[srw]

If you buy an iPad you're tied into the Apple ecosystem - overpriced compared with the alternatives, very pretty (but not as much prettier as Android as you'd think) - and you're compelled to grow a bushy beard, get an arm-full of tattoos and live in East London.*

Take a look at an Android tablet and make sure it won't do exactly the same as an iPad but for much less money - or even a Windows tablet or convertible. Windows 10 is a huge improvement on the abomination that was Windows 8.


*This sentence may have traces of exaggeration.

 

[srw]

Buy Windows or Android and watch your life tick away as you struggle with the bloatware and clunky interfaces, plus the virus and malware issues.

On Windows or Android, unlike Apple, bloatware can be removed. And viruses and malware prevented with a simple and free download.

From a security perspective, which would you rather have? A multiplicity of competing security providers always looking to stay one step ahead of the competition, or a single point of failure in the shape of whoever tests things for the Apple Store based on what they already know about?

Just imagine if there was a security issue in iTunes. It would take weeks for Apple to acknowledge it, and months to fix it.

 

[mustang1]

... and talking of clouds and storage

You will be given online storage by the University (usualy accessible via a browser) .... use it

Most no longer accept loss of data as a reason for delays in handing in projects or course work. By using the University's system, it becomes their responsibility to safeguard your work

Also back up your work to a 2nd backup system. And ensure you back up regularly and test at random.

Recently inkmow someone who thought they were banking up but they were only backing up shortcuts to their original files!

 

[vickster]

If you're ok with a year warranty and money is tight, look at what's available on the Apple refurb site. You might find a higher spec or larger memory for less

http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad_air/wi_fi

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Get an Andriod tablet with an expandable memory SD card slot. That way you won't get raped with the extortionate prices that Apple, Google etc, charge for larger memory versions. Considering you can buy a 64GB micro SD card for about £15 its a no-brainer. Apple will charge you way, way more than that for a much less extra memory model.

 

[Vidor06]

If you register with Unidays or the NUS for the Extra Card you get 15% off Apple products as a student. As a result when replacing an aging Dell Laptop I was able to get a MacBook Air with about £110 off and they threw in Beats headphones for free. This boots in seconds as it has a solid state hard drive and so far is streets ahead of any laptop or PC I have previously owned. It has 128gb of storage and i use a 1tb external hard drive as back up so never any worries of running out if space.

 

[ufkacbln]

If you're ok with a year warranty and money is tight, look at what's available on the Apple refurb site. You might find a higher spec or larger memory for less

http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad/ipad_air/wi_fi

I am a lemon!
Only a lemon could forget this

Once you are registered as a student and have a student ID card ask for the Educational Discount